The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and, more particularly, to sorters or diverters constructed of conveyor belts having article-diverting rollers arranged to be rotatable on axes oblique to the direction of belt travel.
Sometimes it is required that articles conveyed in a first direction along one conveyor be diverted to one or more second conveyors arranged to advance the articles in a transverse second direction. Examples of these conveyors range from a simple right- or left-turn conveyor to a sorter with multiple parallel exit conveyors. Some applications, such as automatic baggage inspection or other applications in which article orientation is important, further require that the leading edge of a conveyed article be maintained as the article is diverted from the first conveyor to the second conveyor. If the difference between the first and second conveyance directions is small—for example, 30° or less—the leading edge of the diverted article will usually be maintained. But, if the difference between the conveyance directions is large—for example, 90°—the leading edge of the article on the first conveyor becomes a side edge after transferring to the second conveyor. That's why the exit conveyors on sorters typically branch off the main conveyor on angles of less than about 30°.
Thus, there is a need for a sorter or other diverting conveyor that can maintain the leading edge of a conveyed article as the conveyance direction changes from a first direction to a transverse second direction.